Mr. Scruff Biography

Mr. Scruff is the recording name of Andy Carthy (born in 1972 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England), a British DJ and artist. He lives in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. Before he could make a living from his music alone, he worked as a shelf-stacker in the Burton Road branch of Kwik Save.

His DJ name was inspired by his scruffy facial hair, as well as his trademark loose-lined drawing style. He has been DJing since 1994, at first in and around Manchester then nationwide. He is known for DJing in marathon sets (often exceeding six hours), his eclectic musical taste, his love of a "nice cup of tea" and the quirky home-produced visuals and animations associated with his music. In an interview he said: "It’s about putting a lot of effort in and paying attention to detail. I get annoyed if I don’t take risks. I’m very hard on myself."